Demystifying Proactive Customer Helpers: Where Do We Find Them?

<em>Amid the growing interest in proactive customer helpers, extant research offers surprisingly little guidance on where to find them. </em><em>Of interest to this study are proactive helpers taking personal initiative in assisting other customers to avoid harmful brands. Guided by the attitude-behavior phenomenon, selected attitudes and behaviors were examined among 347 customers in the United States using survey research. Latent profile analysis aided in obtaining further clarification regarding the profile characteristics of customers who proactively assist other customers with their brand avoidance behaviors in an anti-consumption context. These profile characteristics are useful, as they provide strategic direction on where to find the proactive helpers in the marketplace. The study is further meaningful, as consumers can influence brands and responsible behaviors. Anti-consumption practices unleash this power into the market and proactive helpers could assist. The current research contributes to this conversation by providing guidance on finding proactive helpers.</em>

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Published
2025-01-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.20429/amtp.2025.02
Primary Topic
Service and Product Innovation
Type
article
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article

Demystifying Proactive Customer Helpers: Where Do We Find Them?

Sam Fullerton, Estelle van Tonder
Service and Product Innovation
article

Demystifying Proactive Customer Helpers: Where Do We Find Them?

Sam Fullerton, Estelle van Tonder
article en

Abstract

<em>Amid the growing interest in proactive customer helpers, extant research offers surprisingly little guidance on where to find them. </em><em>Of interest to this study are proactive helpers taking personal initiative in assisting other customers to avoid harmful brands. Guided by the attitude-behavior phenomenon, selected attitudes and behaviors were examined among 347 customers in the United States using survey research. Latent profile analysis aided in obtaining further clarification regarding the profile characteristics of customers who proactively assist other customers with their brand avoidance behaviors in an anti-consumption context. These profile characteristics are useful, as they provide strategic direction on where to find the proactive helpers in the marketplace. The study is further meaningful, as consumers can influence brands and responsible behaviors. Anti-consumption practices unleash this power into the market and proactive helpers could assist. The current research contributes to this conversation by providing guidance on finding proactive helpers.</em>

University of South Africa (ZA), North-West University (ZA)
Openalex Percentile: Top 65%
Service and Product Innovation
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Demystifying Proactive Customer Helpers: Where Do We Find Them? — Sam Fullerton, Estelle van Tonder · (2025) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS